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Editorials - 09/07/00Future of Blue Ridge is up to community |
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Jackson County's elected officials have done their part. The school board listened to folks in the southern end of the county and agreed to move forward with a classroom addition for Blue Ridge High; county commissioners borrowed enough money to make it possible.
The eight-classroom building could host students as early as this time next year. Given the scarcity of resources and scant number of high school students at Blue Ridge, school board members have done about all they can do. It was more than a little hard for them to justify eight classrooms for 73 students - it will be next to impossible for them to authorize additional spending up there unless high school enrollment increases. Significantly. The decision to proceed with the planned addition comes on the heels of two months of controversy concerning the future of Blue Ridge High. With a vote that commits $1.8 million to secondary classrooms, local school officials have made their position clear. Maintaining a high school in the southern end of the county is a priority for them, and they showed the community the money. Was it the right choice? The jury's still out. We remain skeptical, and we base our view on a student population that's dropped by 25 percent in a year's time, and a senior class that has dwindled from 27 freshmen four years ago to only 11 now. Per student instructional expenditures at Blue Ridge are considerably higher than at other county schools. It may be true that less has been done there with regard to construction, but Blue Ridge is, after all, the third-newest school in use (only Smokey Mountain Elementary and Cullowhee Valley are newer), so it shouldn't come as a surprise that capital projects money has gone in other directions. Smoky Mountain High (formerly Sylva-Webster) is 15 years older and has more than 10 times as many students. It has a cafeteria designed for 250. It is hard for us to understand complaints, voiced during meetings in the southern end of the county, that too much school system money is spent at SMHS. At least the uncertainty is finally over: Blue Ridge will have a high school addition. Let's hope community members make good on their promise to stay united, and that they work together to make their school succeed. Those kids deserve the best, and we hope they get it. Editorial policyThe opinions expressed on this page are those of the Sylva Herald Editorial Committee. Opinions are derived independently and owe no allegiance to any group, organization or political party. We welcome opposing views. |
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